The present invention relates to physiotherapy devices and, in particular, it concerns a physiotherapeutic stair system in which treatment is enhanced and/or documented by use of a computer system associated with an integrated sensor set.
Many patients require physiological rehabilitation for various reasons. These include, for example, victims of traffic accidents, patients who have suffered from a cardiac episode or underwent a cardiac medical procedure, as well as individuals that have had a cerebral episode, invasive medical procedures, or sustained injuries of violence and the like. These patients need to receive physiotherapeutic treatment in rehabilitation wards of various institutions or by professional physiotherapists, for the purpose of a gradual return to regular life.
The practicing of walking, ascending and descending stairs is a central part of the rehabilitation process. The ability to ascend and descend stairs is a vital component in the assessment process performed by the medical staff when deciding whether a patient can be discharged from the rehabilitative institution to his or her home.
One example of a suitable device for practicing ascending and descending of stairs is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,813, and is commercially available from DPE Medical Ltd. (Israel) under the name Dynamic Stair Trainer (DST). The device consists of number of stairs whose height can be altered simultaneously according to the need and ability of the current patient.
Stair trainers used in physiotherapy for ascending and descending stairs are preferably static during use with a uniform pitch, simulating the look and feel of conventional stairs. It is also preferable that adjustment of the height occurs through a purely vertical motion without changing the depth of the tread surface of each step, and that the steps have closed riser surfaces without overlap between steps to minimize risk of tripping.
Existing step trainers of this type do not provide integrated tools to facilitate analysis and assessment of progress in stair-mobility treatment.
There is therefore a need for a physiotherapeutic stair system in which treatment would be enhanced and/or documented by use of a computer system associated with an integrated sensor set.